Chapter 132: Hammond of the Jurassic Park

It turns out that the owner of this "Jurassic Park" is truly a movie enthusiast, or more precisely, a superfan of the Jurassic series. How big of a fan is he? The guy even changed his name to Hammond, exactly like the founder of Jurassic Park in the movie. His full name is Hammond Toretto, and he's no slouch academically either, holding a master's degree in biology and environmental science from Columbia University. After graduating, all he could think about was dinosaurs, so he decided to pursue his dream and started planning to open a zoo, dedicating himself to his passion. "Mr. Toretto." "Call me Hammond." Leo was talking on the phone with this Hammond. "Alright, Hammond, do you think your zoo can keep going?" "It can—who wouldn't want to see dinosaurs?" "But your zoo doesn't have any dinosaurs—by the way, where did you get those iguanas?" Leo had found out that the finances of this Jurassic Park were rather tight. The iguanas from the Lesser Antilles are an endangered species, not something you can just buy easily. Jurassic Park didn't seem like the kind of place that could afford them. On the other end of the line, Hammond proudly said, "I caught them myself—surprised? After I graduated, I spent some time in Europe, saved up enough money, and went there to get them. These iguanas were originally intended for scientific purposes. I believe one day I'll be able to recreate dinosaurs!" Leo had to give him some credit. This dream was indeed a bit foolish, but you had to admit, someone willing to act on their dream was hard to dislike— Unless that dream was political. Leo thought for a moment and said, "So, you're planning to fund your biological research through the revenue from your zoo. Do you think that's realistic?" "I don't need you to tell me that!" Hammond sounded angry. "If you just called to tell me, 'Hammond, stop dreaming, nobody goes to zoos anymore, and no one cares about an extinct species,' then this conversation is over! Damn, I thought you'd understand—you're working on cross-species genetic engineering, do you really think that's any more realistic?" "In fact, we've already successfully synthesized the drug, we just need one more sample." Before Hammond could respond, Leo quickly added, "Hammond, seriously, I understand and respect your dream, but we really don't have much money. How about we try a different kind of collaboration? You could join us—don't refuse right away. Come to the lab and see the process of the gene-modifying drug working." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "...Fine, I'll come over now, see you soon." Hammond hung up the phone and looked at his "zoo." The so-called zoo was rather cramped, with only a small area—the reptile section, to be exact. But Hammond had built everything in that section—the equipment, the vegetation, the landscaping—all by himself. Just like Leo had noticed, he wasn't wealthy. The zoo only had one visitor—and that visitor was Peter Parker, sent there remotely by Connors. Peter seemed completely captivated. Seeing Peter's reaction, Hammond decided he should go see the lab. After all, they were all working on science that didn't sound plausible, so in a way, they were colleagues. "Hey! You—" Hammond suddenly forgot Peter's name. "Peter." "Right, Peter. Help me out. We need to move this beauty into the car and go check out your experiment." Peter hesitated. "Did Professor Connors pay for it?" "Of course not, you can tell just by looking at him—he's as broke as I am, full of impractical ideas. So, are you going to help or not?" By the time Professor Connors woke up, he snapped fully awake in an instant— The iguana was right in front of him! He practically jumped from his chair, leaning over the cage with wide eyes, inspecting the lizard. His reaction even stunned Hammond—this guy seemed even more obsessed with reptiles than he was! But Hammond quickly noticed Connors' empty right sleeve and had a guess. He asked Leo, "You guys... you're not trying to apply the reptiles' regenerative abilities to humans, are you?" "You guessed it." "That's never going to work." "Don't be so sure. By the end of today, you'll see our first milestone." Connors hurried over, grabbed Hammond's hand with his remaining one, and said, "Thank you for your help! We can now begin the animal trials!" "Wait a second. Before you start, I want to remind you again how rare these creatures are..." Without hesitation, Connors rattled off, "I know—the Lesser Antillean Iguana population has drastically decreased since the introduction of the invasive Green Iguana, and it's now classified as endangered, with fewer than two known cases of successful captive breeding." Hammond was a bit taken aback. "Uh, well, alright then. Go ahead." Leo nodded to Connors, who placed the cage on the lab bench, made a small incision on the iguana, and cut off a portion of its tail. While most reptiles possess regenerative abilities, the process isn't instantaneous. Hammond grimaced at this, but kept his cool. The iguana thrashed violently after being injured, but it was securely restrained by the experimental equipment. Watching the lizard struggle, Connors took a deep breath— This would be a milestone in his research. He injected the DNA-modifying drug, and suddenly, the iguana stopped moving, closing its eyes as if dead. Hammond's blood pressure spiked, but before he could say anything, the iguana's severed tail and the incision began to rapidly heal! Connors' face lit up with joy— Not only was the wound healing, but the iguana's body began to grow. Connors immediately released the restraints— The iguana's eyes shot open, and it slammed into the glass enclosure with a loud bang! "Hiss!" The now feral lizard hissed violently, moving several times faster than before, and repeatedly slammed into the glass. Connors froze, but Leo had already prepared— Peter entered the lab just then, closing the door behind him. "Professor, I got the stuff." He looked up and was stunned by the thrashing iguana, while Leo calmly took the bag from Peter— It was supermarket-bought meat. The chunks of meat were thrown into the enclosure, and the iguana, smelling blood, immediately started devouring them, its body swelling even more. Its original length of 40 cm had now reached 70 cm, with visible teeth and claws! The Lesser Antillean Iguana is supposed to be herbivorous and non-aggressive! The drug didn't just alter the iguana's physiology and abilities—it had changed its behavior! Everyone except Leo was stunned by the sight! The ferocious behavior cast a shadow over Connors' thoughts—what if this were a human? The consequences would be unimaginable. Leo patted Connors on the shoulder. "Professor, don't worry. We'll find a solution. Let's start compiling the experiment report." But Hammond suddenly became excited. "This is a miracle! Do you realize what you've achieved? Please, let me join you. This is the first successful gene-editing experiment I've ever seen—even Oscorp has only managed it once, and now we're the second successful lab! I'm begging you, let me be part of this!" Leo smiled slightly—heh, just a small trick to win you over. "Calm down, take it easy—remember, this is what we discussed from the start. Do you have experience with company management?" "Of course, I do. What do you think? My zoo may be small and shabby, but it's a legitimate business! I've been running it for nine years, brick by brick!" "So, you should be familiar with finances, right?" "Of course—stop with the nonsense. You have a company, don't you? I'm not abandoning my zoo, but I could move it to your company's grounds, giving these genetically modified animals a larger area to roam. Oh, and if possible, it could still be a zoo. Do you know how much investment this kind of result could attract? I've thought about it before—I've thought about it for a long time." Leo watched as Hammond became increasingly excited, thinking to himself how lucky he was. He'd been worrying about finding someone with company management skills—and now he had snagged a double master's graduate from Columbia University.